


death sang a lullaby

by titaniaeli



Series: fic ideas dump [6]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Yamamoto Takeshi, Drowning, Fix-It, Gen, Italian Mafia, Multi, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2020-04-12 02:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19122658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titaniaeli/pseuds/titaniaeli
Summary: When they failed the future again, and this time the cost was too high, the remaining council of the Vongola sent the only Guardian left back to a time when everyone was still alive.





	1. Chapter 1

Yamamoto Takeshi was a normal name. Common, generic, completely unmemorable. There’s probably at least a few dozen Yamamoto Takeshis in his prefecture alone, and he was being generous. His was a name that was supposed to be forgotten, unremembered except for his exceptional skill in baseball in high school. 

Yamamoto Takeshi has never been someone destined to be forgotten. 

Yamamoto Takeshi was a name whispered with awe, respect and fear in the underworld. He was the unfathomable Rain, left hand of the Vongola Decimo, rumoured heir of the strongest hitman in the world. He was the shadow of the Guardians, the Ghost with hands as bloody as Vongola’s sins. 

No one could dispute his deadliness. 

Except for the man himself. 

Yamamato Takeshi was a normal man with a normal name. He has a questionable career, and while it’s not something that he could ever put down in his resume; swordsman, assassin,  _mafiaso_ , he was also a man with a family and friends who he’d die to protect. He liked to garden and experiment with cooking; he also liked to spar with the most lethal fighters he knew. He was a man of contradictions, but he was also a normal man with normal ambitions.

He built his reputation around that normality, and no one ever looked twice at him in meeting rooms.  

Because he was a normal Japanese man with a sword, and he liked being just that, even in a mafia setting.

It wasn’t some sort of weird moral compunction; he liked to think he tossed aside society’s perceived sense of morality when he followed Tsuna to Italy. 

He simply enjoyed being underestimated. His entire shtick relied on him being ordinary, a hapless Japanese teenager caught up in the drama of Sawada Tsunayoshi. _Poor kid_ , people looked at him and whispered. He had such a bright future in baseball, with so many offers of scholarships from scouts even before he graduated high school. If only he wasn’t Tsuna’s classmate. If only he hadn’t caught Reborn’s eye.

He wouldn’t have to walk such a dark path.

The thing is, Takeshi wasn’t a naïve child walking straight into the unknown. He knew what he was getting into joining the mafia. He saw a glimpse of that world after being thrown into the future, into a war with Byakuran. He knew exactly what he was sacrificing when he took up the sword. After all, he had lost his father once.

The sword felt _right._ More than a baseball bat in his hands.

Baseball had been his solace in his childhood, still struggling to find his equilibrium and self-worth. Baseball had been the smile on his father’s face. Baseball had been fun and games and remembering how to laugh again after his mother left and never came back.

He was _more_ with the sword. Or perhaps he became what he was always meant to be when he found his purpose in the sword, in _Tsuna_.

He was a friend, a son, a Guardian. He was the violent waves under the surface of a still ocean, the torrid downpour hidden behind an unassuming smile.

He was the only one left. The survivor.

Could he really be called a Guardian if he has no one to protect anymore?

He was meant to be ordinary, to walk in the shadows as the Vongola’s Rain. He wasn’t meant to save everyone.

But when Yuni and Kyoko approached him with their plan, he knew he doesn’t have any choice.

He was the only one left.

* * *

The thought of dying seemed easy.

But dying _willingly_? Heading straight to your death without the slightest hint of uncertainty?

Even though dying for his friends was never a question, it’s human nature to fear death. Much less dove forward towards one’s own death without hesitation.

He has never been lacking for conviction. His unfaltering resolve has always been his strength; when he gave up everything in his life to follow his friends on an uncertain dark path, when he lit up his ring within seconds to fight for his loved ones.

He’s grateful to the ladies, for being thoughtful enough to add the ice in. It dulled his senses and motor functions, and he welcomed the cold, sinking through his clothes and skin. His hands trembled slightly at the edges as he climbed into the tub, keeping his eyes forward.

“I’ll see you on the other side.” Kyoko said tremulously, looking down at him. Her hand found his, and his fingers found the discoloured mark around her ring finger. They both exchanged a look filled with meaning and understanding.

“Hasta la vista.” He quipped and felt his lips quirked in amusement when she snorted.

“We’re ready.” Yuni said softly.

The smile faded from Kyoko’s face, and she bit her lip in determination, settling into her position. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand.

He was reluctant to leave Kyoko, but he knew that if they succeed, he wouldn’t have to worry about her any longer.

This world would be gone.

“Please save everyone, Takeshi-san.” Shouichi said. Even though he was barely thirty, he looked twice his age. Silver streaks shot through his vibrant orange-red hair, and he was permanently slouched, weighed down with loss and grief.

I-Pin, her eyes red-rimmed and watery, leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead. She sat down next to Colonnello, who gave him a weary nod.

“Good luck, Takeshi.” Haru smiled.   

Sky, mist, sun, storm, rain, lightning. Everyone has gathered.

He stole a few seconds to stare at their faces hungrily. He has grown close to them in the past few months. Even though he might see them again, it won’t be the same.

His eyes fell shut and he let go, submerging himself into the water. The ice stole the breath from his lips in surprise, and his body took a reflexive jerk. The pool was shallow enough for him to escape easily, but he controlled the urge to fling himself out of the tub.

His instincts demanded for him to _live_. He has been taught to fight since he was fourteen, and he hasn’t fought this long to die this quietly. To die without fighting against his death.

He reached up blindly for the chain around his neck. The Rain Vongola Gear has been destroyed a long time ago, but the remnants still remained. The dog head and crest were crushed, the text unreadable, and the sword had broken into half. He still continued to wear it; perhaps for sentimentality or motivation. The broken sword was still sharp enough to dig into the flesh of his palm, and he wrapped his hand around it tighter.

Slowly, he released his breath and inhaled a mouthful of ice water. It filled his lungs, swift and sudden. He could feel himself lashing out wildly, every alarm in his body going off as instincts warred against his actions.

He took in another mouthful and forced his muscles to unloosen with sheer willpower. Suddenly, he could hear a song swelling and settling into his bones, and then he was no longer cold.

He felt limp and boneless, his hand loosening around the Vongola Gear on his chest. Flickers of rainbow lights danced in his blurry vision, and faraway, the sound of laughter flitted away from his yearning grasp.

He breathed and goes willingly to his death. 

He has given his entire life to his Sky. It only makes sense he’d die for him as well.   

On 24th March 2029, Yamamoto Takeshi, the last living Guardian of the Vongola Tenth, took his final breath and died.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the first day of spring during their second year when Takeshi rushed into the classroom late and every instinct in Tsuna’s body started to _scream_ , like a siren going off in his head, shouting _look over here_. 

He couldn’t take his eyes off the taller boy as the latter apologized profusely to their homeroom teacher. His uniform looked even more dishevelled than usual, and Tsuna thought he saw a smarting bruise forming at his chin. Courtesy of a certain irate Disciplinary Committee leader for arriving to school late, no doubt. Who was mysteriously still skulking around the school, even though he already graduated last year. 

“Good morning, Tsuna!” Takeshi greeted loudly. He’s either oblivious, or he was pretending that he could not see their teacher glowering at his cheerfulness.

When it comes to his Rain, sometimes it’s hard to tell if he was just being a troll.

“Shut up, idiot.” Gokudera hissed behind them, kicking the back of Takeshi’s chair. 

“Good morning.” He said hesitantly. Then he stared carefully at his Rain Guardian. Tried to figure out what his instincts were telling him.

Reborn always told him to listen to his Hyper Intuition. 

Reborn was never wrong.

“Are you alright, Yamamoto?” He murmured, ducking his head quickly when the teacher looked over with a suspicious glare.

Takeshi looked at him, his head cocked to the side in confusion.

Suddenly, he felt stupid.

“Never mind,” he said sheepishly. “It’s nothing.”

Takeshi doesn’t look any different from yesterday, or the day before, but why was his Hyper Intuition screaming at him to _pay attention_? It wasn’t anything dangerous, he knew.

Sometimes it’s hard to discern what his own instincts were trying to tell him, if there wasn’t anyone attempting to murder him or his friends.  

At least he knew that it was not an imposter or an illusion. After Takeshi’s last fatal attack landing him in the hospital last year, Tsuna was now intimately familiar with the feeling of how it felt when Chrome created an illusion of his Rain Guardian. This was definitely Takeshi, from the tips of his dark hair to the scuffed sneakers at his feet.

He glanced back at Gokudera, who was wholly focused in his textbook. To his chagrin, Gokudera doesn’t seem to notice anything.

But then again, Takeshi has always been terribly good at pretending.

He jolted in surprise when a scrunched piece of paper landed in front of him. He looked up warily, catching Takeshi’s wink in his peripheral vision.

Slowly, he unfolded the paper and smoothed out the wrinkles to read the note.

 

 _Meet at the rooftop during lunch? Need to talk. Xoxoxo._  

 

The words felt ominous, and left Tsuna feeling even more anxious. It was casual and informal as usual, but it doesn’t detract attention from the strange words. Takeshi has never been someone who needed to go around in circles just to talk to them.

He turned towards Takeshi and nodded to indicate his agreement before returning his stare to the whiteboard in front.

It was going to be a _long_ three hours before lunch.

* * *

“Oi, baseball idiot, the Tenth said you needed to talk to us.” Gokudera said rudely as he kicked the rooftop door open.

Takeshi was already settled down on the floor, with a packed bento box in his hands.

“Oh, hey!” He greeted, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

“Chew your damn food first, moron!” Gokudera said in disgust, dodging the spray of rice in his direction.

Takeshi gulped down his food, and then let out a loud laugh in amusement. Either he was ignoring Tsuna’s intense stare, or he truly did not notice.

Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition had bothered him for the last three hours. It was _annoying._ In the end, he didn’t even absorb any of what their teacher was teaching. What a great start to a new year!

“Is there something wrong?” He asked, a little too aggressively. He noticed Gokudera giving him a confused glance, but he was feeling impatient.

Takeshi wanted to _tell_ him something.

“Oh,” Takeshi said slowly, chewing absently on his chopsticks. “It’s nothing serious, Tsuna.” He put down the bento box on the floor. “Are you guys still heading to Italy next month?”

“Yes?” Tsuna replied. “I mean, if there aren’t changes with Reborn...”

“Great!” Takeshi said brightly. “Can I come along?”

Tsuna relaxed when the insistent feeling at the back of his mind faded slightly. For a split second, he had been afraid it was something serious, something like Takeshi getting sick of the mafia game and _leaving_...

Although such a thing would have made Tsuna happy. He might be stuck with this mafia business, but Takeshi still has a chance to leave. He would be _safe_ , away from all the fighting and _killing._

It makes Tsuna relieved if that ever happens, but it also makes him dread the possibility of not having Takeshi by his side in the future.

“I thought you said that you were busy the last time we asked.” Gokudera scowled. “You told us you have to help with the restaurant.”

“Ah, I managed to hire some help for Dad.” Takeshi grinned. “Everything’s settled at the restaurant. I can’t let the both of you have fun without me!”

“We’re not going there to have fun, idiot!” Gokudera roared. “We’re meeting up with the Vongola Ninth and his Guardians!”

“Is that all you want to say to us, Yamamoto?” Tsuna asked.

Takeshi looked at him, and the sun was in his face, and all of a sudden, his eyes burned golden in the light, bright and unreadable. For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say more, but then that moment was gone, swift as quicksilver.

Tsuna wasn’t even sure if he had seen what he had just seen.

“I’m so happy we’re going to be together!” Takeshi laughed. And then he dragged the both of them into a tight hug.

Gokudera squawked in outrage, his arm flailing in anger, while his other arm was trapped between their bodies. Neither Takeshi nor Tsuna mentioned that he didn’t seem to be making much of an effort to pull away.

Only Tsuna noticed Takeshi hugging them tighter.


End file.
